The Wild Child By Darktayle
by Blackstory
Summary: -RESUBMISSION- When Harry's so-called relatives contentedly leave him alone in an isolated forest, the magical creatures deem it an excellent time to step in and prevent their pawn from dying before they can use him.


Title: The Wild Child

Category: Books » Harry Potter

Author: Darktayle

Language: English, Rating: Rated: T

Genre: General

Published: 03-17-08, Updated: 08-07-09

Chapters: 3, Words: 5,928

Chapter 1: Prelude to existence

Everyone assumed, after dropping him off there, that Harry would be fine at the Dursley's. They didn't check on him, Dumbledore had too much faith in those Muggles.

He was wrong.

For five years, Harry was fed on naught but enough to keep him alive. One meal a day, barely a snack. They made no hesitation on calling him a freak and assuring him that he was hated. Five years of it, and Harry brought it up, while scrubbing a floor not quite well enough for their tastes.

"Uncle Vernon, please can I have a snack before I finish? I haven't had anything to eat since yesterday." And it was currently early evening. Vernon turned red, like a beetroot.

"No you may not! get back to work!" He shouted. Harry frowned, and timidly replied.

"But...why not? Dudley gets lots of food, and he doesn't do cleaning...and I'm the same age as him..." Harry could have sworn smoke was coming out of his ears, he looked so furious.

"Petunia! Get Dudley, and your coats! We're leaving!" He turned to Harry. "And you! get your things, all of them. Now." Harry was confused, and rather fearful, but abandoned the sponge and went into his cupboard to gather his meagre belongings.

"Where are we going, dear?" petunia gasped.

"We're getting rid of Him!" Vernon replied angrily, grinding his teeth. Luckily, Harry didn't hear, or he probably would have locked himself in the cupboard for once.

Within minutes, the family was in the car, and driving away.

"dad? Where are we going?" Dudley whined. Vernon grinned.

"Somewhere which will help us." Harry was silent. It was very dark by the time Vernon stopped, but all they could see was a field that stretched on across the horizon. "Got everything?" vernon grunted to him.

"yes..."

Vernon got out of the car, opened Harry's door, pulled the boy out, and pushed him onto the grass with a triumphant grin. "We've had to put up with you for five years, but not anymore!" Then he quickly got back in the car, and before Harry could say anything, they'd driven off. What...the...crap.

Harry gaped. "T-they abandoned me?!" He spluttered. his mind wa sin a whirl. He began to panic. "But it's miles away from any town! There's no food or water or anyone to steal it from-" In his rambling, he hadn't even noticed that he'd been branching off into several strange languages he shouldn't even know.

"Plenty a seed here." said a small chirpy voice by his side. Harry jumped, and looked around.

"Who said that?!"

"Us! Us! Us!" Chirped many more chirpy voices from around him. Harry noticed that the source seemed to be...sparrows.

Harry blinked.

"We've never seen humans talk to us before!" A sparrow told him happily, flitting up to him and perching on an outstretched finger he'd put out. "You must be a special human!"

"Special! Special! Special!" Chorused the sparrows. Suddenly, a large black bird landed, followed by another. they were ravens.

"There is a Speaker child? Here? How is it that the one forseen is away from his humans?" Questioned one, irritably.

"Er...They drove me out here and abandoned me. They...er...want me dead, I suppose." Harry bit back the anger.

The surrounding birds flapped their wings. He was attracting quite a crowd, now. All sorts of field mouse and bird were gathering round, as well as a few grass snakes. "How dare those humans abandon their kin!" a raven cawed.

"From what I've heard, human hatchlings are unable to take care of themselves. They need to be fostered, like the nestlings do." The snake speaking eyed a small sparrow, which nervously flitted over to perch on Harry, followed by several others. "Lord Hyza will want to know about this."

"I believe the whole council of Lords would like to know. they cannot let their chosen die. It is our duty to take care of him until we can get help from the lords." A raven preened. "Someone find a hawk to catch the boy some prey. As for you, little chatterlings." The raven nodded to the sparrows. "Take him in the direction of water."

"When did you decide you were boss, raven?" a particuarly large adder hissed. Harry was utterly bemused.

"Excuse me, but can someone tell me what's happening? How can you be talking?"

"All animals can talk. But not all humans can hear them." A crow stared at him. "You are the second in all time to speak to us. Normally, it has been for four animals that gifts of speaking appear for among humans, and even that is rare beyond comparison."

"Then...what's with me? Am I really a freak?" Harry asked, confused.

The crow cawed with laughter. "A freak? No, you're special. Very special. In fact, I think you'll find that any creature that moves and is not human will obey you, if you tell it to. We birds live under the rule of the Magical Birds, like the phoenix. The Magical Birds live under the rule of their lord, and thus she is our lord. The snakes live under the rule of the Magical Snakes, who live under the rule of the lord of snakes, and so on. But the lords answer to no one except you."

"Me? Why me? And isn't magic a fairytale?"

"No, magic is certainly real, child." A particuarly large snake hissed. "There are hundreds of witches and wizards living in hiding from Muggles, or non-magical people. They think very similarly to Muggles, aside from the magic. And just as there are magical humans, there are magical animals."

"Like what?!" Harry asked , typically infected with five-year old excitement, though quite grammatically advanced. The crows and more sensible animals gave long-suffering sighs.

"Educate the nestling on the Superiors, Chatterlings." Said the crow to the sparrows. "I'm off to find a hawk. Maybe a falcon, so that we can contact The Forest." the crow adressed the sparrows first, then the ravens. Then he flew away, disappearing into the black sky. After they left, the snakes did also. As for the mice and sparrows, they climbed all over him.

"So, what sort of special creatures have you got?" Harry asked.

"There are Phoenixes, which are beautiful birds with golden or russet feathers and really long tail feathers and big wings. When they get old, they catch fire and turn to ashes, then they come alive again by being born from the ashes. They're really strong, they can carry things much heavier than them!" chirped a female sparrow atop his head.

And they chattered on for ages, so it was easy to see why the more dignified birds called them Chatterlings. Eventually, to Harry's surprise, a large sparrowhawk dropped by, flying around him in circles, telling him to hold out his arm. Harry did so, the sparrows quickly fluttering away, and the sparrowhawk flew in, hovering above his arm to then perch upon it. the bird was a surprising weight.

"Child, I have heard that humans do not hold good taste for raw meat, so i am unsure of what to feed you. only the fire-creatures can cook your meat." the hawk told him. Harry blinked.

"The Durs- I mean, the humans, they always fed me raw meat, whenever they did." Harry shrugged. "It was fine. I don't know any different, anyway." The hawk studied him for a moment.

"That is considerably more convenient, I think, because your species can apparently survive on both meat and vegetation, but not without either. I will be off hunting." And the bird departed. the animals crowded round again.

--

The setting was in the sunshine, upon some very large stones by a river. A ridiculously large snake was basking there, with a large lump at one point on his length, indicating that it had been fed recently. What you have to understand was that this lump could easily be the size of a giant squashed into a ball, so naturally, the snake was very large. It was roughly 4 meters thick and about 80 meters long. It was also a basilisk.

And what many people failed to understand was that a basilisk could decide to turn of his killer-eyes, so he did not accidentally murder his comrades. It was then that the Bird Lord, a phoenix named K'renn, decided to drop in and disturb him.

"What is it, you insufferable ball of feathers?" The basilisk hissed irritably.

"Stingy as always, huh, Lord Hyza?" K'renn teased. Hyza grumbled. Certainly, it was strange, but he and the astonishingly large (around as large as Hagrid's lovely pet Hellhound) phoenix were very close friends. Hyza would never admit it. Never. But suddenly, K'renn looked unusually serious. "Listen, I just got a message from a lesser falcon from the eastern fields." Hyza perked up. It had to be important, if it was K'renn's sole purpose for being there. "Our Chosen- his humans abandoned him there."

Hyza uncoiled and reared his massive body up in a second, hissing with outrage. "WHAT?!" K'renn, who had temporarily taken to the sky upon the snake's thrash, returned to sitting on him.

"A hawk has hunted for him. The boy does not object to eating raw meat. My agents have been informing the other lords, as they are quickest to move. The whole Council of Rulers agreed that we'd approach him when he was older, and thus able to have more coherent thought, but now we will need to call a meeting, with all the lords. It will take a while for them all to arrive, since some are many miles away in different parts of the United Kingdom. Such as the hydra lord of Wales. But back to buisness, we'll get the boy to the forest and lodge him temporarily in our nests. We can keep him warm, and our nests are close to the lake. Then we'll have a council meeting on what to do. Personally, i don't think we should contact the humans. He needs Creature upbringing." Hyza nodded grimly.

"I agree. Send a strong phoenix to retrieve the child. I will go to the Meeting Hollow and await the other lords." K'renn chuckled at his friend's reply.

"I still think it's a wonder how such a huge snake can even fit in that hollow without everyone having to sit on you." The large phoenix quickly flew away before Hyza could snap at him.

--

Harry had eaten rabbit meat, which he had reluctantly skinned with the help of two magpies. In return, they got bits of the meat too. Mainly the guts and things Harry didn't want to touch.

Then, suddenly, a great blazing bird came from the sky and clamped its talons around his shoulders, and promptly flew away with him.

"Hey-what the- where are you taking me?!"

"To the forest of the superiors. I will be taking you to the phoenix nests where you can have a comfortable sleep." The phoenix replied. Harry huffed. Flying was actually quite nice. A few minutes later, and the fast-soaring bird had passed over a large forest, and was heading towards a very clear river running through its middle. Once they reached there, the phoenix planted him in a gigantic nest, one of many, dotted throughout the surrounding trees. It was soft with phoenix down. Harry was tired, and hadn't slept all night...so...he promptly fell asleep in the poor phoenix's nest.

--

The Creature Lords of the UK all had means of getting to the meeting place in the forest quickly, so soon, they were all assembled. K'renn was currentlt elected as spokesperson, as he knew the most.

"Our Chosen, Harry Potter, was yesterday abandoned by his humans in the eastern fields. I sent a phoenix to retrieve him, and he is currently resting in the poor chap's nest. The question is, what shall we do with him?"

There was stunned silence, before another lord snapped his reply. "We keep him, of course! What else?" It was Aries, the lord of all canines. He was a gigantic golden wolf with bigger feathered wings. Hyza nodded his great head at the wolf approvingly, though he was irked as always to find many of the lords sitting upon his scaled coils.

"It seems we will have to teach him in our arts sooner than expected. Though if he is to be acquainted with the wizards, we must send him in stealth to walk among them." Hyza spoke. The audience voiced their agreement in small murmurs and trills.

"We will let the boy decide which clan to stay with, though he may naturally change clans at will." Rilmed, the lord of felines stated, bringing his colossal paw across his head.

"But will he be able to deal with the diverse living conditions of the clans?" Mijex, the lord of horses, questioned, frowning. "I understand the hydras live in waters so deep that humans cannot follow."

"The Greater Forces granted us permission to choose a medium between us and the humans. Being a medium means he must have the full potential of all Creatures and that of his natural human. He simply needs to take the form of a creature, and its nature will come as easily to him as if he were of our own younglings." Sythka, the hydra queen, argued.

Mijex nodded to her. "You are right, of course. Perhaps the boy should form his set of close followers or friends. he could spend time with each clan and choose a friend from each. Our chosen needs his friends, and of course, potential mates." A sly smirk dressed the face of the great horse. There were collective chuckles.

"Yes, I believe that is a commendable idea. When he becomes of the wizard age and goes to their place of mentoring, he can take his followers and spar with them to refresh his fighting knowledge occasionally." Kalidah- the native dragon queen- remarked.

"I believe it is nescessary to aquaint the child in human knowledge. They attend 'school', as far as I know, which teaches them basic abilities before they proceed to other sources of learning, such as Hogwarts." K'renn declared. "We shall have him spy in stealth upon school at times."

They'd already discussed the important details, but no doubt there would be many more Lord Meetings to sort out the finer details.

--

Harry, painfully oblivious to his symbolic importance to both Creatures and wizards, happily chose the phoenixes as his first hosts.

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Plenty of other stories have contradicted that, an extraordinary amount. I find myself wondering if they recieve so much...attention. I will tell you what I told Flaming Critique: It is indeed a fanfiction, and very experimental. A basilisk can live in the wilderness because snakes like sunlight, and there is nothing telling us that there are not other branches of the basilisk family. There is also nothing telling us that magical creatures do not have their own means of concealing ridiculous amounts of land from the public. For all we know, England could be part of a small continent. in this story, England will be very large, but certainly not part of a continent. Creatures such as dragons are much smaller in england, despite the fact that with magic involved, entire countries could be hidden from us.

Oceanwind.

Chapter 2: Solidified

"Oi, Umbra! Stop fluttering about and get your feathery arse down here!"

A rather small blood red phoenix, who had previously been looping around branches, hastily grabbed onto the nearest tree with a snatching foot of talons. After firmly attatching both feet to the branch, he poked his head through the branches.

"Nari?! What the hell are you doing here?" The phoenix screeched, in a sort of warbling squawk. He addressed the one who'd yelled at him- a brown dragon roughly the size of a young bear. The dragon shuffled in a funny sort of way, sitting comfortably on his haunches in an upright position that looked quite strange on a quadraped. The position was evidently natural by the ease he stood in it, but his forelegs were curled against his scaly chest for balance. His leathery wings were mostly folded neatly against his back, aside from one of the bony 'hands' at its wrist, which grasped a wooden stick awkwardly. The three long fingers and their talons were made for ripping, not holding. The dragon's fairly long neck-spiky with long scales- was curled in an odd way that puffed out his chest, and the posture radiated smugness.

"I tracked you- all the way to the Phoenix Roosts. And it wasn't fucking easy, either. You know how shit I am at that scenting crap. I would have made Raku do it, but he's off cooing at the moon, or whatever it is he does when it's full." Nari snorted with slight disdain. "Sure, the thing's pretty, but it's bloody cold. Why don't they worship the sun instead? It's much warmer."

Umbra shrugged in his own phoenix way- raising the forearms of his wings and then dropping them. "I dunno. They just...do, I suppose. I thought it was weird too, before I joined them." He shivered, as if caught in a frosty memory. "They revel in the cool gaze she gives them." A strange luinescent quality seeped into the phoenix's nuclear-green eyes, and they gave off a soft glow in the dim light of late afternoon. "We worship the great mistress in the sky." He raised his predatory head to the west, where the moon was becoming visible, as if in some kind of tribute. When Nari snorted, the phoenix promptly sent him an icy glare.

"Yeah, yeah. Cut the poetic crap. Everyone already knows how much you love those damn wolves. Anyway-" Nari took the stick- a wand- into his jaws carefully, then tossed it raggedly in the bird's direction. In a very indignant fashion, the red raptor shot out one of his legs, catching the stick awkwardly. His lack of balance caused him to fall from his perch to where he was simply hanging from the branch by one leg. Umbra let out an undignified screech, spitting sharp sparks of fire at the dragon. He'd been laughing, the sound comparable to a person trying to laugh with rocks clattering around in their voicebox. However, when the sizzling sparks formulated, he gave an otherworldly shriek before tumbling out of their way, watching with wide golden eyes.

"When in fuck did you learn to do that?!" he shrieked, huffing a small plume of smoke into the hair. The phoenix dropped the wand into the leaves (where, knowing the Phoenixes, a nest was probably concealed) before righting himself and preening smugly.

"Yesterday." He informed airily. Nari glared. If they hadn't been in a forest, and if Phoenixes hadn't been immune to fire, he would have choked a fireball at him. But, as it was, those two facts applied and so he didn't, instead choosing to try and regain his composure.

"Anyway, the old man sent me, since he wouldn't be able to-"

"Arcas did?" Umbra interrupted, suddenly interested. "And don't call him old." He added, as an afterthought.

Nari scowled. "He is old, get over it. And yes, he did send me."

"How did he do that?" Umbra blinked with confusion, fluttering from the branch to perch on a jutting rock closer to the dragon, dropping the wand beside it. "Your clan is ages away from the kryptplains."

"I was at the den, idiot." Nari snapped.

Ignoring the insult at his intelligence, Umbra nodded thoughtfully. "Makes sense. Carry on."

"So, Arcas'd come to collect Raku, and he told me to tell you that you need to get back to the den and prepare."

The phoenix blinked. "...Prepare? Oh, right. Hogwarts. Got it. I'll go ask Yara if they got an owl to come in or not." He spread his wings, and took to the air.

"Just hurry the hell up! And don't get philosophical! And learn your name!" Nari screeched after him. Umbra hovered for a second, trying to figure out where Nari learnt how to use the word 'philosophical' in casual conversation, then decided to ask later. He contemplated the last comment while flying.

My name...crap, I forgot. I can't expect the humans to just call me something else because I want them to...now, what was it? He frowned, scouring his memory. Larry? No, that wasn't it. Er...it was definitely 'arry' something. He thought back as he flew, to the memories from his human life. Now, they were faded and dull, colourless and tasteless from the erosion of time. All of the faces were blurred, and he couldn't remember details. ...Harry. That was it. What was my last name, though? He gave up. He hadn't heard it nearly enough times to be able to remember it.

He broke out of his reverie to the familiar sight of golden and red blurs launching from rustling treetops into the sky, flitting and wheeling with their companions. They looked like embers of flame against the dusty sky. With a trained eye, Umbra assessed the many trees he knew hid nests in their leafy confines, and as soon as he spotted a certain one, abruptly bent his wings to an extent that they were nearly folded against his sides entirely. He welcomed the rush of freedom that soared through him as he dropped from the sky, opening his wings just enough to drastically slow his descent before he tumbled through the tunnel of leaves and into a familar nest.

He hopped away from the 'strike zone' of the nest, that being where other phoenixes could potentially drop in and knock you out, taking a perch on the feathery outskirt of the personalized home. He dipped his head slightly to the other phoenix in greeting, who'd gone from a light doze to eying him welcomingly.

"Umbra." He greeted, bobbing his head in the traditional greeting of an older phoenix to a youngling. Umbra replied with the slight head twist and exaggerated blink that was a show of respect to one's elder.

The phoenixes were pleasant characters: and were very composed. They traditionally spent most of their time observing the world from their secreted homes. Phoenixes, out of all magical creatures, were of the most attuned to nature. They could hear messages in the wind, and the way the leaves danced in response. Their eyes held the knowledge of nature, and in tribute of that, there was not a wiser species. They were well known throughout all creatures for their wisdom and powerful philosophy. As such, a common passtime was to drop in to another's nest and engage in a banter of knowledge and wits, exchanging theories and philosophies about the world in general. A phoenix made friends through the respect that they felt for each other when their philosophies were to the other's liking, and proved interesting to them. The exceptions were those below eight years of age, who retained a ridiculous amount of childhood in comparison to other creatures. It was certainly an instinct, one that had always existed. Until their first burning day, around their seventh birthday, they were unable to hear the world. As such, they had no philosophy at all and their friendships were as flimsy and unstable as all childhood ones. It was almost unheard of for two phoenixes to still be very good friends after their maturity. Following their first burning day, they had them a lot more often, every six or seven months.

After the burning day, it took only a day for them to return to all of their full flaming glory (and usually a slight amount larger, too). Sizing was a very slow process which happened over centuries. It happened to all magical creatures with extended lifespans: in time, their magic became too much for their form to hold, and so it grew to hold them. There were several cases of creatures who had a great lot more magic than the norm, and so sized at an incredible rate. These were the creatures that became the lords of their races.

The Phoenix Lord, K'renn, was barely a century old. Considering his phenomenal size, it was evident how much power he commanded and so he was a very much revered lord. Unlike his underlings, K'renn was a jovial character and seemed to always be in the Rebirth State.

The Rebirth State was a key feature of a phoenix's life. After his Burning Day, the phoenix would regress to a child-like state. Simple of mind and painfully innocent, a child in all ways but age. It would take a day for him to return to his full size and mentality, and the extreme rate of growth meant that he would normally be in great pain for the duration of that day, and the resulting childlike way of dealing with pain was a sad thing to watch. However, once at full size and full state of mind, the phoenix would experience an extreme energy rush. While the rush lasts, the phoenix would typically be joyful no matter the situation he might be in. At this time, in the Rebirth State, the phoenix was at its most powerful. They could conjure more powerful flames, produce better song, and it was the only time that they could use a self-sacrificial ability without dying.

Lord K'renn acted as if he were always in the Rebirth State. It was unknown, since everyone was unwilling to test it, but it was thought that he could use the ultimate ability of the phoenix and survive, even without the energy rush from the Rebirth State. Naturally, it would not be smart to play with the life of the phoenix prodigy, so it was entirely a theory, and nothing more. The Rebirth State only lasted for six or seven hours, and so wasn't very useful for combat purposes.

Umbra had had his Burning Day one or two months ago. His next would show up in the middle of the school year...not a very convenient time.

"Yara. I'm afraid I don't have time to talk." Umbra told the older phoenix, organising the placement of his wings in so subtle a way that only a phoenix could understand its meaning- a gesture of apology. Phoenixes, like most creatures, placed a lot of value in body language. However, over half of their body language was centered around politics. Phoenixes were very formal creatures, and placed great weight in manners. "I wanted to know if the ravens posted at my former home have redirected any owls to us."

Yara bobbed his head gravely. "They have, nestling. Lord K'renn should be in possession of the letters." Yara stared at the young changeling unblinkingly. If Umbra had been a human, the stare would have likely unsettled him; but being a phoenix and practiced in their ways, he knew it was simply the elder's way of soundlessly communicating with him.

He distractedly noted that it was going to be very difficult to live among humans. He just wasn't used to not using subtle body language- he'd probably attempt to use creature body language in human form, and then the humans he was trying to communicate with wouldn't get the full extent of what he was trying to say.

"Understood. I'll go meet with him and decide what to do. Thank you." Umbra ruffled the crest on the top of his head, fanning it out and flashing it: a sign of gratitude.

"Take care." Yara spoke, and followed it with wordless trills and warbles, quiet ones made without opening his beak, and in such number and speed that it sounded like a strange combination of a whistle and a hum. It went silently spoken between the two in their subtle messages: they were unlikely to see each other for a long while, and each bid the other safety in their posture. Umbra finished the exchange with a voiceless click of his beak, then abruptly launched himself through the passage of leaves into the sky, wheeling in a sharp curve towards the enourmous tree in which K'renn made his nest. He dropped into it with the same

abruptness, but it took a lot longer, considering how large the tree was and how many leaves protected the Lord's nest.

"Umbra!" The energetic Lord greeted him with delight, completely lacking the finess and etiquette his minions so strictly practiced. He bypassed the traditional 'greeting a delinquent with elderly respect' and utterly interrupted Umbra's 'greeting a powerful figure somewhat familiar to me with extremely submissive respect' routine and simply ducked his monumental head to nudge the several times smaller phoenix with the very tip of his beak: a gesture commonly used by extremely affectionate parents to their chicks or a young phoenix to his best friend. Umbra halted his customary greeting in favour of clicking his beak loudly with indignation. "Hi Umbra! How are you? That raven brought in one of those owls- poor thing's really creeped out." The huge bird indicated to a little barn owl, quite a bit smaller than Umbra himself. He shuffled his feet anxiously.

"I imagine I'd bee creeped out too, if a raven directed me to the Lord of all birds, who happens to be ridiculously large and freakishly informal."

K'renn tilted his head to the side slightly, and his crest feathers ruffled in a strange motion- like a mexican wave of feathers. The phoenix equivalent of a mysterious smile. "And perhaps certain fledgelings should be thankful for the mentioned Lord's informality, and their own lofty status, otherwise they would be in a rather nasty situation regarding their disrespect."

"Indeed." Umbra nodded. "But since certain fledgelings indeed have lofty status, they see no reason to be alarmed once their Lord confirms that he is being his usual jovial self. Therefore, these fledgelings find it appropriate to engage in rather meaningless explanations of why they do not believe overt respect to be nescessary at the current time."

K'renn gave a musical trill of laughter. "We've taught you well, fledgeling. Now, come. I arranged for writing equipment to be prepared so that you can reply to the letter of these magical humans."

Naturally, considering the formality of the phoenix clan (known as the Skyskim clan), once they bore witness to the elaborate calligraphy of the humans and the etiquette it represented...well, they couldn't overlook the chance to create something similar. They found a way to create their own type of liquid for ink, and eventually composed their own scripture, just for the sake of formalities. In general, they would use a combination of fire and claw to create an ashen white surface upon a tree, then write on it. They used a claw to write with.

Umbra was in knowledge of the phoenix scripture and the human scripture- and was beginning to learn the text of the elves. The elves being one of many humanlike species of the creatures. It was awkward writing human text with phoenix methods, since the movements for the phoenix scripture were made with the intention of being easy for a claw to scribe. Human text was not, so he had to hang off several conveniently placed branches before he could get the appropriate angles required.

He chose to reply on the back of the letter, after reading it and memorising what he needed to get. He glanced appreciatively at the pool of phoenix-ink, dripped into a basin in the wood.

Phoenix-ink was made when phoenix tears and ash were combined. Phoenix ash proved to be very loose in its particle placement, and so dissolved into any liquid. With enough of it, however, the liquid would change colour and thickness slightly. This mixture was used for the ink.

Umbra scratched onto the page slowly, and upon finishing, folded the letter and gave it to the owl. "Thank you." He told him. "Please return that to who sent it, please." The owl shakily nodded, and flew off gladly. Being in the presence of the superiors must have been rather terrifying. "Well, I'll be heading to the Den." He sighed, somewhat sadly. "I hate travelling on these nights..."

"I understand." K'renn nodded sympathetically. "The Kryptwolves hold Aera's nights in great importance. Being fundamentally of their clan, it is natural that you should be distressed at being unable to join them."

Umbra nodded absentmindedly. "Hmm. I think I need to go find Nari before he burns something. See you, K'renn. I'll send word when my Burning Day approaches."

"See you, fledgeling." K'renn nodded as his young charge opened into the leaves with a quiet rustle, and was gone.

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**This story is a resubmission of Darktayle's story. Any replicas found elsewhere have been stolen. This has been posted with full approval from Darktayle, who wished to clear her profile while still allowing readers access to her previous works. This story will not be updated--again, if it is found elsewhere and has been updated, then it is a stolen idea and a stolen story.**

**Thank you.**


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